Dock rope anchor



June 22, 1965 P. w. GRIMM 3,190,253

nocx norm ANCHOR.

Filed Nov. 15, 1963 INVENTOR. PAUL w GRIMM A TYs.

United States Patent Oflice Patented June 22, 1965 3,190,253 DOCK ROPE ANCHOR Paul W. Grimm, Coeur dAlene, Idaho, assignor to Spokane Steel Foundry Co., Spokane, Waslu, a corporation of Washington Filed Nov. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 324,046 1 Claim. (Cl. 114-218) This invention relates to a novel dock rope anchor such as might be used on the decking of a boat dock.

It has been conventional for many years to provide cleats, hooks, rings or other devices on boat docks so that one can anchor a boat to the clock by means of ropes looped or tied at their ends. In almost every instance this has involved the use of a member that protrudes above or beyond the decking of the dock, presenting an obstacle to one walking along the dock and a ready source of potential danger to the user of the dock. This condition is particularly hazardous when utilized on docks that serve also for swimming or diving purposes. Therefore, the present invention contemplates a dock rope anchor that'mounts in a position flush with the decking, providing a substantial anchor, while also providing a substantially continuous surface upon which a person can walk without danger.

It is a first object of this invention to provide a dock rope anchor which can be readily mounted on a dock by forming a simple aperture in the decking and fastening the anchor to the decking surface. The mounted anchor is set in flush with the decking surface and the cleat adapted to receive the looped end of a rope is never higher than the top of the mounting flange of the anchor.

Another object of this invention is to provide such an anchor that can be easily cast as an integral unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide an attractive anchor wherein the cleat is spaced quite uniformly from the ring that mounts it in the decking.

These and further objects will be evident from a study of the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the following detailed disclosure, all of which pertains to a particular embodiment of the invention. understood that this embodiment, while favored, is not intended to limit the. scope of the invention, but rather to stand as an example of its application.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of the end portion of a dock provided with the instant anchors at four locations, the remainder of the dock being broken away;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged top view of a single anchor as seen in FIGURE 1, thesurrounding decking being broken away; a

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 in FIGURE 2; and 7 FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3 showing how the anchor is secured to a thinner deck.

The dock anchor formed according to this invention is extremely simple in structure and can be readily understood from the accompanying drawings. It is designed to be mounted within an oval shaped aperture formed through the decking of a conventional boat dock generally designated by the numeral 10. The dock 10 shown in FIG- It is to be' URE 1, has four anchors 11 mounted thereon, although 7 any desired number of anchors could obviously be utilized.

Each anchor 11 is preferably formed as shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3. The anchors 11 can be easily cast as integral units, and will provide a substantially strong member to which a rope can be attached by passing its looped end over the cleat of the anchore The anchor 11 includes an oval ring having a continuous annular oval wall section 12 whose outside configuration is complementary to the interior surface of the aperture 13 formed through the decking 14 of dock 10. The section 12 is preferably equal to or greater in depth than the thickness of the decking14, so that when mounted within the aperture 13, the section 12 will protrude entirely through the decking 14. Formed at the top of the section 12 is a flange 15 that is also continuous and complementary in its oval shape relative to the aperture 13. The flange 15 is flush withthe top of the section 12, and protrudes radially outward therefrom about the entire periphery of section 12. The flange 15 is preferably set into the decking to bring the top thereof flush with the top surface 16 of decking 14, in the manner shown in FIGURE 3.

Extending inwardly from the flange 15 is an integral fiburcated cleat 17 having two arms 18 and 19 that extend to each side of the joinder of cleat 1'7 with the ring and which are equidistantly spaced from the inside edge of the flange 15 along each side of said joinder. The terminal ends of the arms 18 are spaced from the ends of the flange 15 by a distance no less than the separation between the arms 18 and the adjacent sides of the flange 15, and preferably by a distance slightly greater. The oval configuration of flange 15 minimizes the separation between the cleat 17 and the flange 15 about the entire periphery of flange 15, as can be seen from FIGURE 2. The cleat 17 is preferably substantially thicker than the flange 15, and the top surfaces of cleat 17 and flange 15 are preferably coplanar. In this manner, the anchor presents no sudden protrusion above the surface 16 of the dock decking 14, and would normally not trip a person'walking carefully along the dock 10. One can walk over the anchor without tripping, since the cleat 17 fills a substantial portion 'of the oval shaped aperture within the wall 12. This prevents a childs foot from entering.

To mount the anchor on a conventional dock is a simple matter, involving only the cutting of an oval shaped aperture 13 so as to receive the lower section 12 of the continuous ring. After cutting such an aperture 13 the deck is preferably recessed to receive the relatively thin flange 15;. The anchor is seated with the section 12 protruding through the aperture 13. The flange 15 is fastened to the decking 14 by'means of spaced screws 20. Where the deck is thin, as shown in FIGURE 4, it is desirable to use bolts 21 and an oval ring 22 in securing the anchor. One can then anchor to the cleat 17 by simply passing a looped end of rope over the arms 18 and 19, the rope being fastened in the usual manner to a boat or other floating apparatus.

Various modifications could be made in this structure withoutdeviating from the basic concept of a substantially flush and very simple unitary cleat structure combined. with an esthetic appearing ring that can be easily and readily fastened in place when desired. For this reason, and so as to cover equivalent structures within the scope of the invention, the following claims are intended to de-' a flange directed radially outward from said ring at a one axial end thereof; and a bifurcated cleat at the end .of said ring including the flange, said cleat intersecting one side of said ring along its minor axis and extending inwardly of said ring, said cleat being spaced equidistantly from References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Walker .c 1l42-18 1 Hofiman 114-218 Tuttle 105-369 Tuttle 105369 Oakley 105 369 FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner. 

